Unwholly by Neal Shusterman (Unwind Series, Book 2)

Much like its predecessor Unwind, Shusterman follows the story of several characters on their path to being unwound. Miracolina is a tithe: born to provide harvestable parts for her older brother, she has always known her destiny. She looks forward to being unwound, and even spurns her parents when they begin to doubt their decision. The biggest shock comes when she is kidnapped the day before her procedure and whisked away to a facility keeping tithes from being unwound. Their "patron saint" is none other than Lev! While the other kids at the secret facility are for the most part happy to be free, Miracolina is resistant to all their "anti-brainwashing" techniques. She truly believes in the sacrifice for her brother, and you begin to be sympathetic to her point of view.

Starkey is a stork. He was left on the doorstep of a family, and by law, they were forced to raise him. Never one to be subservient, he has always held a certain amount of resentment for his so-called family. He didn't make much of an effort to stay on their good side and was always teased as a child. As he grew into adolescence, he made an effort to be too big and mean to tease, but he's still surprised when they come to take him away. Channelling Connor, he shoots his Juvenile Officer with his own gun and manages to escape. He finds his way to the resistance and to the Graveyard. There he begins his insidious, cunning rise to power, creating a "Stork Club" and building a group of kids loyal to him by playing on their insecurities as storked children.

Camus Comprix (read: Caymoo Compree), or Cam, is a composite human created exclusively of unwound parts from 99 different unwinds. He is made up of the smartest, fastest, most diverse group imaginable to become the ultimate new advancement in medical science. While he embodies all the elements of unwinding, he is also an abomination to many. His face is a literal quilt of different skin colors, and his first conscious moments are an exercise in patience as his mind begins to make connections between all his neural pathways. He has existing knowledge from the previous owners of his elements, but he must learn how to access this knowledge. Roberta is his mother, his teacher, his confidante in this endeavor, and she acts as his handler to the rest of the world. It is she that introduces him to the media.

My typical synopsis would give too much away. These character sketches will have to do enough to intrigue you. READ THIS BOOK! Shusterman is a master of blending suspense and almost truths into a can't-put-down thriller that makes you want to have philosophical conversations. (Ok, so that last part may have just been me.) The way this story begins to unfold puts a new spin on the value of human life. What is it that makes us human exactly?

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